Crafting with Kara

Bunny Craft 



Kara went to Michaels  with me recently, and saw supplies that gave her the inspiration to make this bunny craft. 

To make a fuzzy bunny you need 

• a jumbo pipe cleaner 
• google eyes 
• pink pom poms 
• black chenille 
• thread

Pretty much all of the supplies are found in the same aisle except for the white thread.

Using the white giant pipe cleaner she rolled it into the head/face, leaving enough to fold into the ears.

To make the ears she she looped the pipe cleaner two times per ear, so they would be filled in and fuzzy.  She had a hard time describing exactly what she did, so hopefully her  directions on the ears were clear enough to follow.   She then used white thread to secure the everything in place.

The backside to the bunny's head is not quite as filled in.  That is okay as long as the front of his face is. 

Using Elmer's glue, she attached the google eyes, pink pom poms and the mouth. 

Here she is gluing on the the eyes.

Here she is attaching the pink pom ears

We are not sure exactly where we are going to display her bunny yet.  It would be a cute addition to a wreath, mantle, gift or almost anything else. 




Flower Pot Nest 



While using the 15% off coupon at Michaels this weekend, Kara saw some birds that she fell in love with and wanted me to buy.  She told me that she had the perfect idea for her next craft. 

For this craft she used.. 
a clay flower pot
a package of 2 medium size birds
a package of baby birds
a package of speckled eggs
a mini grapevine wreath
a bag of moss from the dollar store. 

to keep the moss from falling out of the bottom of the flower pot, she stuffed a plastic bag on the bottom. This was also done so that she did not need to use as much moss. 

She filled the pot with with moss, and left a  hole in the middle.

She placed in the mini wreath which then became the top of the bird nest.

She added in some of the eggs and one of the baby birds. 

She added in the mama and papa bird 

She tied a pretty pink ribbon around the flower pot. She found this ribbon in the $1 sale bin. 

It turned out so cute. She has since added in a few more eggs, which makes it look even better.  The Flower Pot Nest is such a fun way to celebrate the start of spring this week.  It would  also make a nice gift for Mothers Day. 

Tissue Paper Flowers 



We finally had the chance with Kara's busy schedule to fit in another installment ofCrafting with Kara. This week she thought it would be fun to try a craft she saw in the March issue of Family Fun.  Using just a few supplies, she made vase filled with spring flowers. 

The supplies you will need to make this craft are: one toilet paper tube per flower and an extra tube if you want to make leaves, paint, bamboo skewers, and tissue paper. 

Paint the tubes in  your desired colors.  If making leaves, paint one of the tubes green 

 Both the inside and the outside of the tubes need to be painted. We found it to be easier to paint the inside after cutting it.  Paint the skewers green, these will be the stems. 

Mark off the center inch of the tube 

Mom helped with this step.  Cut slits up to the mark off point on both sides of the tube. There should be about 1 inch of tube left uncut. 

Once the tube was cut, it was easier to reach inside the tube.  She also painted all of the petals on both sides of the tube. 

To make the leaves, flatten the green tube 

and cut into strips. 

Once all the flowers are dry, stuff the centers with different colors of tissue paper. 

Using a push pin, make a small hole. (this is another step that might need to be done by the parent) 

Insert the pointed end of the skewer into the hole.  You might use a little bit of glue to keep it in place, but we did not have to. 

Because of the vase Kara decided to use, we did not add the leaves this time.  

We found the pretty purple vase at the dollar store.  They sold other colors like pink, yellow and blue as well.   One thing that I love about these flowers is they will stay pretty a lot longer than real ones. They would make a nice Mother's Day gift or just a spring decor pick me up. 

Tissue Paper Butterflies 

Kara is my little craft diva.  She is always digging around in my craft room, looking for supplies to make one of her designs.  We  recently came up with the idea to do an ongoing series called "Crafting with Kara".  She will share crafts for kids, made by a kid. 

The first craft she wants to share is a tissue paper butterfly.  

To make a tissue paper butterfly you need the following supplies 

tissue paper 

crepe paper

pipe cleaner 

scissors 

tape 

To make the body of the butterfly, she started  by rolling up the crepe paper 

When it was the size that she liked, she secured it with a small piece of tape 

She then drew a  heart on the folded tissue paper  

Then she carefully cut out the heart shape, leaving the folded side intact 

She opened up the heart, and it was the perfect shape for butterfly wings 

Using small pieces of tape, she secured the wings to the body 

To make the antennae, use a piece of pipe cleaner about 6 inches long, forming  a small curl on each end 

She attached the antennae to the bottom side of the butterfly, and then turned it over

She then  rolled the pipe cleaner 

on both ends 

The finished butterfly 

Maybe if she makes a few more, it will start to feel like spring! 

Clay Creations 

This post is a "guest tutorial" by my daughter Kara, age 10.  She wanted to show how  she made an Angry Bird that can be used as an ornament or decoration.

She used a block of red  Fimo/Sculpty clay for this project.  Before rolling into a ball she pinched off a small piece of clay. She put it aside to make the feathers on top of his head in a later step.  She then used the remaining clay  that she rolled into a ball for  the bird's body. 

Using a little bit of black clay, she rolled a "black worm" and then flattened to make his eyebrows.  

You can make clay eyes if you prefer, but Kara thought it would be fun to use google eyes.   She suggests putting the eyes in to ident the clay,  but then taking them out before baking the clay.  They can be glued back on, in the indented spots after the clay cools.  I am not sure how they would hold up if try to put them in the oven.  

She used the red clay she set aside, and added the feathers on top of his head.  She rolled a very long red worm which she folded in half to make the middle feather.  She then folded up each side again to form the other two feathers.  She then attached the feathers to the body. 

Before using the white clay, she had to wash her hands because they were pretty red working with the red clay.  Once they were clean, she put a small piece of white through our clay pasta maker. When it was to the thickness she was happy with, she formed the belly piece and gently added it on. 

She used some yellow to make the beak, and  then used a clay tool to add his nostrils.   A toothpick would work at this step as well.   

To make the tail, she made 3 small worms and then attached the ends together before adding it to the bird. 

She is working on several more clay creations, so you might be seeing more tutorials for kids soon!